Tiong orders pullout from Sibu association over ‘interference' by politician
PETALING JAYA : Progressive Democratic Party president Tiong King Sing has ordered party members to withdraw from a Chinese association in Sibu, Sarawak, over an unnamed politician's interference in the association's elections.
Tiong claimed to have received numerous complaints about the political party leader's actions in the election of the Sibu Chinese Community Leaders Association's committee members.
He did not name the party nor the leader, but gave a hint that it might be a party associated with PDP by questioning whether the party in question would be able to win future elections on its own 'without the support of allied parties'.
Tiong said the politician was trying to manipulate the association's elections using his political influence. Tiong claimed he had evidence that the political party had issued instructions about the association's elections.
Tiong, who is vice-chairman of the state's ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), warned against treating community leadership positions as political assets.
'This is my final warning. The political party in question has utterly failed to uphold the ideals of power-sharing and inclusiveness,' he said in a Facebook post. 'We do not need their so-called 'mercy' nor are we interested in being part of a body that has become another political stage for a party.'
Tiong said the role of community leaders was to serve the public, and such leadership posts should never be the subject of a power struggle among political parties.
He accused the other party's leaders of being obsessed with power and position. 'They bicker endlessly over trivial matters and seek to monopolise social resources and political capital,' he said. 'Their behaviour is nothing short of disgraceful.'
PDP is a component of GPS, along with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu, Parti Rakyat Sarawak, and the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP).
PDP and SUPP leaders have clashed multiple times in recent years, particularly after the former accepted Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) leaders and members en bloc last year. PSB, led by Wong Soon Koh until its dissolution, is a splinter of SUPP.
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